Case study of cultural immersion workshops that Culture Consultancy designed and facilitated for Optivo Homes

1. C U LT U R A L I M M E R S I O N W O R K S H O P S
F O R R A P I D I N T E G R A T I O N
Building the culture
to create more homes

2. p2
The decision to merge Amicus Horizon and
Viridian to create Optivo in 2017 was an obvious
one, and indeed it made sense on a number of
levels. Not only did it create one of the largest
housing associations in the UK–providing
homes for more than 90,000 people in London,
the Midlands and South-East England–but
the combined power of the new organisation
also allowed the group to build a further 1,500
homes every year.This, in the words of its Chief
Executive Paul Hackett, will enable it to… …respond positively to the challenges of
the housing crisis while looking to deliver
sector-leading services,” adding “We look
forward to working with our partners to
meet housing need and creating safe,
sustainable communities for our residents.
‘‘ ‘‘
Introduction

3. p3
In addition to the performance advantages
of merging together, the two groups also
demonstrated a number of shared values:
• Being people-focused, not just resident-focused
• Being innovative in their approach
• Having exceptional focus on the job to be done
Indeed, this focus on customer service and
excellence had seen both organisations
achieve high customer satisfaction levels
and exceptional employee engagement.
Optivo therefore had an exceptionally strong
base upon which to build an ever better future.
The leaders were conscious that mergers are always
challenging and success can not therefore be
guaranteed.To continue their track record of success,
the new organisation would have to develop a robust
culture that was consciously designed and embedded.
They asked Culture Consultancy to design and deliver
cultural immersion workshops for all Optivo staff,
which would promote:
• Shared values
• The application of tools and techniques to
help employees embrace the changes ahead
• The desired behaviours and best practices
to continue the growth of the company
• Delivery of innovative ideas and solutions,
even with reduced external funding
Laying the cultural foundations

4. p4
Employees were empowered with the best tools to perform in their
jobs with the help of three-hour cultural immersion workshops that
were designed to be suitable for the entire organisation.The emphasis
of the workshops was to help staff gain a rapid understanding of what
the new culture entailed and what was expected of them.
At the heart of this was a powerful toolkit that was designed to inspire
staff and empower them to be accountable for their work and adopt
a ‘can-do’ attitude to enable the very best customer service to be
delivered, even in the midst of a challenging austerity environment.
• Design and
deliver culture,
engagement
and integration
workshops
• Provide a staff
toolkit to increase
effectiveness and
performance, and
to reinforce the
new culture
• Engage staff
sufficiently that
they pledge to
continuously
improve
performance
Providing the tools for the job

5. p5
Each workshop began with a number of light-
hearted activities during the coffee & registration
process to get participants relaxed and engaged
with the session ahead of time, whilst also
reducing any inhibitions and helping them get
to know their new colleagues.
They then progressed to sessions designed to
emphasise the importance of Optivo’s culture to
deliver the most effective service.The sessions
were also designed to help participants identify
self-limiting beliefs that may prevent them living
the cultural values, with each person empowered
with a range of strategies, tools and methods to
help them overcome these barriers and adopt the
more positive and proactive attitude.
The workshop

6. p6
Personal examples delivered by the Executive
Team were a crucial part of this process.
Each executive in the session disclosed personal
stories whereby they overcame their own self-
limiting beliefs. Feedback from participants
revealed that this not only inspired them but
made the executives feel more approachable
and less distant than might otherwise have
been the case.
These sessions significantly helped to build the
trust in the leadership team that is so crucial
in any merger.
The executive team

7. p7
Each of the 11 identical immersion workshops
were supported by Olympic gold medallist Sally
Gunnell. As both an individual champion and
the former team captain of the British Olympic
team, Sally was chosen in order to highlight
how each individual could strive to be the best,
whilst also working effectively as part of the
new Optivo team.
Careful preparation ensured the parallels
between Sally’s journey and the journey of
Optivo’s employees was extremely tight.
Going for gold

8. p8
In order to optimise effectiveness, the workshop
cleverly incorporated the use of experiential
activities, powerful metaphors and symbolism,
music and differing presentation mediums.
For example, in the delivery of a ‘One-Team
exercise’ a multi-layer approach was taken to
the activity, with employees placed into small
groups to begin with, but eventually encouraging
total collaboration by all employees in order to
complete the task.
The structure of the exercise was designed to be
symbolic and to fire the imagination, showing
how individual efforts could combine to deliver
a community of homes.The task was elegant,
effective and the message, powerful.
Working together

9. p9
Each person finished the workshop by creating
a personal pledge to themselves and the
organisation as to what they would focus upon
changing and improving, and how collectively
they would create a great Optivo culture.
These were collected personally by the Executive
Team who will respond to each one personally,
thanking each employee and pledging their
personal support in making the pledge possible.
• Setting the tone
from the start
• Understanding
and discarding
self-limiting beliefs
• Building an
appreciation of
the culture and
place within it
• Promoting the
one-team concept
A personal pledge

10. p10
Suffice to say, the Optivo team are conscious that
statistically, 70% of mergers fail, and therefore
these workshops are only the start of a long
process designed to ensure that employees at all
levels live and breathe the values of the company.
Whether a merged organisation or not, there’s
nothing worse than a company with grandiose
mission statement that is detached from the
reality of the organisation.
However, the early signs are that they got off
on the right foot, and there is no better judge
of that than the participants themselves. of participants agree
that they clearly
understand how they
contribute to the
Optivo culture
of participants
believe they can apply
the behaviours and
attitudes highlighted
during the workshop
84%
87%
Firing the starting gun

11. p11
The way in which the executive team were
prepared to stand up and share their own
stories came in for particular comment.
Participants used phrases such as:
As to whether we delivered “the best
ever events they had ever experienced”,
the response at the end of the
roadshow was clear:
high-energy levels
enthusiasm
positivity
looking to the future
going beyond what we
believed we could accomplish
you nailed it!
‘‘ ‘‘‘‘
‘‘
Positive feedback

12. p12
Successful delivery of inspirational
workshops to kick start the embedding
of the newly-designed Optivo culture
and one-team philosophy.
Normally at this stage we include a quote from
one or more of the leadership team.This time
we have a short video which highlights the
success points and the impact generated by
the workshops. Click on the image to view it.
The result

13. C U LT U R E C O N S U LTA N C Y. C O M
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